Ace Of Love
by memorieslost05
Summary: Two unlikely souls find each other in the midst of thousands of battles. Can their love survive? {ON HIATUS}


A'N:

Sup! So, my computer's officially a bastard. Won't let me edit on the site.

Anyway, I finally got off my ass and upgraded this story. Due to extremely short chapters and several rookie spelling mistakes, I felt that it needed to be done. Fair warning, I speak BRITISH ENGLISH. Yes, BRITISH ENGLISH. Another chapter of this story will be up in the next two days.

0

_Light._

_Pain._

_Hurts._

**SHE **_had done this to him._

**SHE **_had betrayed him._

**SHE **_would pay._

_Hurts._

_Pain._

_Darkness._

_-_oO0- Chapter 1 -0Oo-

Piper stood by the railing of the Condor, her head in her hands, contemplating her now non-existent relationship with Aerrow.

She, upon discovering 'Chapter 441, Section 3, Paragraph 5 of the International Guide of a Sky Knight's Rules' stated that intimate/personal relationships could not be conducted between two (or in some cases three) Sky Knights, had broken up with her leader.

This had immediately dissolved her friendly relationship with the other members of her team.

Stork had given her a (more than usual) disgusted look and stormed off, Finn, upon comforting a crying Junko had had a full blown temper tantrum and Radar, siding with his leader, had completely ignored her.

Damn her life.

'Twas amazing how a team nineteen/eighteen year old crime fighters could be so immature.

It was two whole weeks later and the group still had not forgiven her for her 'selfish' break up with Aerrow.

Even on 'team' workouts and battles against Cyclonis, none of them asked for her help, communicated with her or had anything to do with her.

For heavens sake, she was fighting off multitudes of the Dark sides' by HERSELF.

This time however, her teammates could not have aided her even if they'd wanted to. All five of them (including the helmsman, Storm) were unconscious, sprawled in uncomfortable positions.

Piper herself was only standing because of her 'crystal mage powers'. She was now facing Master Cyclonis on her own and her eyelids were drooping with fatigue.

After several rounds of fierce fighting, Piper was ready to drop. Literally.

Casting a sorrowful glance back at her unconscious team mates, she drew in the reserves of her crystals' power and fired.

The jet of energy was so strong that it lifted the small Sky Knight off the ground and propelled her into the distance, leaving a fuming Cyclonis, Cyclonia's dead soldiers and her friends and fellow team members.

As she flew, Piper felt a sense of elation and felt at peace with the elements of the Terra. Then she hit land.

0

_Pain._

_Hurts._

_Darkness._

The girl still had not woken, even several days after he'd dragged her into his cave.

He didn't know why he'd done it but he'd touched the crystal around her neck, which had been emitting a deep red. She'd moaned and he had drawn back and, after tending to her most serious wounds, had retreated to his corner, debating on what to do.

It felt like he'd known her in his life, but was not able to draw her name from his memories. Then again, he was not able to withdraw anything from his memories, other than his own name, Ace.

He decided that she had been close to him in many ways, good or bad he did not know, and fell into an uneasy doze, keeping one eye on the dark skinned girl.

_Pain._

_Hurts._

_Darkness._

She came to moaning quietly, her once pained expression now replaced with a smile born from her dreams. The man crouching over a fire in the corner stood up and walked slowly over to her.

As his face was slowly revealed to her, she gasped and scrambled back, wincing in pain as she did.

"But you're dead! Or at least you should be. Why aren't you dead?"

The man's face was blank. He stuck out a gloved hand, startling her.

"Ace." he said gruffly. "Don't know anything else about myself. You?"

Piper's mouth dropped.

"Tell me you're joking. Actually don't, you're probably lying anyway."

"Why would I lie? I know nothing, so therefore I have nothing to lie about."

"Does the name Aerrow sound familliar?"

"No."

"Cyclonis?"

"No."

"Storm Hawks?"

"For the last time, no. Anything else?"

"No... Shit, you really have lost your memory. Not a bad thing I guess. You won't remember Cyclonis or Aerrow and get mad. But you could have been really helpful if you did remember. I could have taken you ba-"

He interrupted her.

"Your name Miss?"

Piper gaped. Dark Ace would never say that.

"Miss?"

She fainted.

He sniffed, rearranged the blanket and went back to stoking the fire.

"Nerve of some people."

**0**

"How can I be sure you are THE Dark Ace?! I mean, come on, you don't even remember what you did before you came here! For all I know, you could've been a blacksmith or a farmer!"

'Ace' just stared at her.

"And seriously, you don't even act like him! Besides he's dead, so you must be either a sibling, close 'acquaintance' or some sort of...clone. Yes, that's it, you must be a copy! Cyclonis must have used a crystal or her 'powers' to duplicate you and the real Ace."

The man across from her tried to speak, but Piper cut him off with a vague wave of her hand.

"But if you are indeed a clone, then how is it that you don't remember me? Surely your creator would have left some sort of indicator as to why she needed two sidekicks, both of the same body. Perhaps she meant for you to have no memory. Maybe she intended to have me find you and for myself and the Storm Hawks to bring you back to the Condor and then she could attack us from the inside by sending a base killer instinct through your system or something. But then why would she have attacked u-"

'Ace' interrupted, drawing a hand over his eyes as if to indicate that he had some type of headache.

"MISS! Perhaps it would benefit us both if you slowed down and stopped talking to yourself. I could certainly use an hours rest, as my head is pounding. It will also give you time to muse over the fact of whether or not I am a duplicate of the 'real Ace', or if I am the real thing. Kindly shut up now."

He stomped to the corner, holding his head and slumped down to face the wall, pulling a rough leather coat over his body.

"Piper. My name's Piper, not Miss and I'll thank you to remember that. If you persist in calling me Mi-"

"SHUTUP!"

"What happened to the polite, well-mannered and caring 'man' who tended to my wounds huh? Could you please put him back on the line?"

His voice dangerously quiet now, 'Ace' said through gritted teeth "If you don't shut the f*** up now, I will kick you from this blessed shelter."

She snorted.

"I recognise one thing however. Your swift, red-hot temper is an exact match to his."

A moment later, the coat was kicked off and he came storming over again, mouth set in a hard line. Once he reached her, he pulled back a long sleeve. A thick, pulsating, red blob was fixated in the center of his forearm, a crystal to be exact.

"Know what this is?!" He snarled.

"N-no. Looks pretty painful though."

"Aye," he said quietly, pulling the sleeve back down, "It is."

"What I have heard however, is that one of Dark Ace's many obsessions was rubies, a crystal of much power. It is said he had one permanently installed in his body, as if it gave him extra power and much-needed confidence. So, now we have one implication as to the fact that you are indeed Dark Ace, with a severe case of amnesia and several reasons as to why you aren't."

He gaped. "After what I've shown you, you still persist in nattering away about my genetics?"

Piper grinned, then drew her face into a sober expression. "Believe me, I've seen a lot worse from the real you."

'Ace' collapsed next to the small, ebbing fire and sat, staring at her.

"Exactly how bad was I? It doesn't sound like you have any good memories of me."

"That's because you weren't good, just evil, pure evil. You tore families and Terra's apart, killed or enslaved all of them and above all, you were under the Master's thumb. You-"

"Pardon the interruption Mi-"

"Piper."

"Pardon the interruption _Piper _but who exactly was the Master?"

"Cyclonis gave herself many titles, as if the more names she had, that more invincible she was. She ordered everyone to call her 'The Master', because it gave her a feeling of extreme power over all living beings."

"But why not 'The Mistress'? Surely she would want something to signify her...femininity."

"She, being of the old religions, though she is not much older than myself, saw the female gender as the weaker sex, therefore putting herself at a disadvantage. I also suspect that that is why she cut her hair. Now, where was I?"

"Describing my life under Cyclonis's thumb."

"Ah yes, that. Well, to say the least, you thrived. Your skills and powers grew with the help of her staff and you began to do anything she wanted. Hell, I think you would of murdered your own family for her, if sickness hadn't gotten there first."

"I was a monster then."

"Aye, plain and simple."

"I won't be anymore. I refuse to and anyway, I don't remember anything of the past, so I couldn't be if I wanted to. But what of you M- Piper? Why are you here?"

'Well, I suppose I'm here because myself and the other Sky Knights were attacked by Cyc- oh shit we were attacked. They must be wondering where I am, if they're still alive. I need to find them."

She threw off the 'blanket' he'd spread over, stood up, and promptly fell back down again, groaning in pain.

"Eeeshh! What the hell?"

'Ace' cringed. "Did I forget to tell you? My bad. You twisted your ankle badly. You won't be going anywhere for the next two to three days. What a shame."

"Why do I get the impression that you're pleased I'm stuck here?"

"I'm not, I'm just..."

"Oh. Oh! You're lonely!"

"What?! No, no, no, no!"

"You ARE lonely! You want someone to talk to, someone who knows something about you!"

"NO!"

She chuckled, his childish pout thickening as she did.

Gradually, the daylight that had previously swept through the shelter like a knight pursuing a thief on horseback, dimmed and finally, the sun sunk below the horizon.

Upon staring out into the darkness, Piper though she saw something shift, ever so slightly, as if someone had grown uncomfortable and had tried to shift his or her leg, to draw away pins and needles. And was it her imagination, or were there no stars tonight? How strange. There were ALWAYS stars on this Terra.

Her companion's voice called her back to the fireside and taking heed of his advice, she ducked back in.

"Now," he said, "as we are likely to spend several days together, I would like to know more about you."

"Like?"

"What's your favourite colour?"

"Seriously?"

"Aye."

Piper snorted, rolling brown eyes. "Burnt umber. It always feels like a calming colour to me."

"Interesting... How old are you? I know you are younger than myself, that one thing is clear at least." He queried, tilting his head slightly to the side. "I've just turned nineteen. We started fighting Cyclonis when I was fourteen."

"You look older, I must say." Ace mused. "And you certainly act more mature than a person your age should."

"Yes, well, like so many people, I've had a rough life." She snapped. "Did you know you're only five years older than me? Twenty four, you're ready for anything that comes your way and you choose to sit in a shelter? A little depressing I must say."

Ace's mouth snapped into a straight line and he hissed, "At least I don't fantasize over my non-existent teammates in my dreams!"

"Where did you hear that?"

"You sleep-talk. 'Oh Aerrow, Aerrow, I love you, why can't we be together?' That IS depressing."

With a childish huff, she turned to face the opposite wall and pulled the 'blanket' over her head. "I don't and, anyway, the only reason we can't be together is because of the book of stupid rules he always fawns over!"

"Two words spring to mind. Teen angst."

She ignored him.

'Ace' awoke to the smell of burning.

Rubbing his eyes, he sat up and immediately his eyes were drawn to the girl stooped over the fire, her hands busy making some sort of concoction. "What are you, a witch? You look like you're boiling a cauldron and going back every once in a while to put in a teaspoon of frog's legs."

"I suppose I am a witch of some sorts. A Crystal Mage is hardly very different. And anyway, its not frog's legs I'm adding in, its leaves. How do you eat them?! They taste horrible!" He chuckled. "I don't. I forage the night before." Pulling back the coat that served as his blanket, he revealed the still smoking carcass of a woodland creature. Piper wrinkled her nose.

0

"Where is she?!"

Junko cowered under the table as Arrow stormed past. Finn's usually relaxed voice broke into a high pitched whine. "We don't know! She just took off! I know she can be a little te- ta-..."

Stork broke it. "Temperamental?"

"Yeah, te- ti-, that word but I never took her for a deserter. Honestly."

Their leader carried on pacing, worrying his lip with strong teeth. "What if Cyclonis has her? She might be in mortal danger!"

Ever the comforting one, Junko placed a heavy hand on his leader's shoulder. "Piper has it all under control, I'm sure of it! Calm down. She'll figure it all out and, in the meantime, we've gotta focus on defending ourselves, just incase there are anymore attacks."

The redhead shuddered, gritted his teeth and nodded wearily.

"Stalk, Radar, keep watch. Let me know if anything out the ordinary happens. Finn, the control room. Junko, check our weapons. We need to be ready. For anything."

Four pairs of eyes watched their leader hobble from the room.

"So, we get lumped with the work? What's he doing?" Moaned Finn, cracking his fingers.

Stork grinned, almost a grimace. "Mourning." Said the ever optimisitic pilot.

Three heads turned to glare and he quickly turned to survey the scenery.

Aerrow hit the floor as soon as he entered his allocated room, not bothering to move across to the bed three feet away. Hands shaking, his heart thumping wildly, he squeezed his eyes shut tightly and clutched a clenched fist to his chest. If Cyclonis had gotten to Piper, she was done for. The Storm Hawks didn't have the energy nor the resources to save and Piper herself wasn't strong enough to go against entire armies of Cyclonians, each one vying for her blood, even with her powers.

His heart ached. Threatened to run from him, even, the pain was so bad. A single tear dropped from his cheek and shone in the silver of the moonlight, holding every one of his fragile, delicate emotions.

0

Still back at the 'camp', Piper hadn't gathered enough courage to eat the food provided, choosing instead to stare out into the forest, the rain beginning to slow. With A sigh, she pushed herself away from the ground and stood up, shaking various spheres of dirt from her person. Surprised, Ace looked up.

"Where are you off to then?" He asked, poking at the again dwindling fire with a long stick.

"Out. I've got cabin fever." Came her short answer, the words spat out as fast as bullets from a machine gun. Ace threw both hands in the air in surrender, dropping the stick.

"Just asking."

Rolling her eyes, Piper left through the cave neon trance, Ace's voice carrying through the silence.

"Bring back some more wood, would you? We're practically out."

Once she was within safe distance from the cave, Piper began running, muttering under her breath as she did dal.

"We? There is no 'we'. Idiot."

She sped through the trees, lithe legs carrying her through small bushes and around large tree trunks. She ran on when her legs began to cramp, carefully avoiding roots on the ground.

Then, feeling a sharp tug on the back of her head she came to a stop and, gasping for breath, reached round the back of her head. Feeling nothing, she shrugged it off and collapsed forward. Her hair fell over her face and, groaning in disbelief, she moaned "Seriously? My last hair tie.."

The girl rolled onto her back and closed her eyes. Everything was falling to pieces. She whacked the ground with back of her fists and held back a scream. First losing Aerrow, then herself and now her hair tie. Life was GREAT.

The sound that was usually associated with that of a large bell rent the air and Piper sat up suddenly, completely alert. A bell! That could mean.. civilisation..hopefully friendly civilisation. She pushed herself up, noticing the quickly approaching aches and pains that usually appeared after strenuous exercise.

Hearing the sound once more, she hobbled in its direction, hoping to all that was holy that whoever it was had some sort of pain medication. Rounding a set of thick trees, she stumbled straight into a large, bulky figure. Some sort of Wallop she concluded, after looking carefully up at it. Perhaps a little smaller than average but with looks that could probably scare off Cyclonis. A sort of.. Junko on drugs. Hopefully whatever had made it smaller had all given it a smaller brain and an extremely small weapon. The Wallop pulled out a large sword from a sheath attached to his belt.

Or not.

The weapon was as big as Piper herself.

The Wallop growled. "And where have you been? We sent you out for food three hours ago." It scowled and then sighed. " No matter, the other one's already back. Come on, quickly."

Utterly bemused, Piper followed the Wallop, taking in her surroundings as she did.

Dozens of large Wallops sat, squashed up on tiny logs around even smaller fires. The Wallop led her to one particular fire, where the largest of his kind sat, along with two smaller Wallops and a human.

"Boss," said the Wallop, in his gravelly voice. " I've brought back the second scavenger." The four sat around the fire turned to stare at the outsider.

"We'll done Stem. Have a- wait, that's not Mary!"

Each Wallop turned to stare, including the one that had brought Piper back.

"But sh-she's the same col-" Stem stuttered, before being interrupted by the other human.

"Stem, don't be racist."

Stem glared. "Shut up Harvey. She looks like Mary, either way."

The 'Boss' stood up, his joints clicking in the process.

"Pardon me Miss, but might we inquire as to who you are?"

Harvey snorted, obviously at the Wallop's use of polite speech.

Piper, also grinning replied "You may indeed good Sir."

Boss gave a short laugh. "We'll dismiss the formalities, shall we? You can call me Boss."

"Piper. Formerly of the Storm Hawks."

"Storm Hawks? Never heard of them. Well, Miss Piper, formerly of the Storm Hawks, would you like a beer?"

The small can, almost dwarfed by the Wallop's huge hand didn't LOOK poisonous. She snatched it and cracked it open, draining it in record time. Boss raised a bushy eyebrow but said nothing.

"Now, Miss Piper, what exactly are you doing wandering round a forest by yourself, hmm? You never know which wild animal might attack you."

Wiping the remnants of the beer from her chin, Piper put a hand on her belt. "That's what I have this for-" her hand dipped into her daggers empty sheath. She cursed.

"Bastard. I hope he gets attacked by wolves."

Boss raised the other eyebrow.

Coming out of her small trance, Piper shook her head and apologised.

"Sorry. First of all, I was well equipped to deal with wild animals, however, my companion seems to have taken my weapon of choice. And as I've just said, I'm not alone. My companion is currently poking at embers of a fire, back in the cave we've been sleeping i-"

"Room for one more?" Came a smiling voice. Ace squeezed himself between Piper and Stem. "Honey, I'm home."

Piper slapped a hand to her forehead. "And exactly how did you get here?"

"Followed your trail. You weren't very tidy, were you?"

Boss broke in. " I think it's safe for us to assume that this is your companion Piper?"

"Yes. Boss, meet the Dark Ace."

Having heard of the stories been spread about him from Piper, Ace waited for the fear to set in.

Piper smirked, seeing the expectant look on his face.

"Sorry but, as they haven't heard of the Storm Hawks, I think it makes sense to say that they haven't heard of you either."

Ace grimanced.

"Piper said you were in a cave? On your way here, you didn't happen to run into a girl by the name of Mary, did you?" The Boss asked. " We seem to have lost one of our scavengers."

A guilty look passed over Ace's face. "Was she about yay high, with dark hair gathered in a plait?"

Harvey sat up. " That's her."

Ace smirked. "We'll, I hope she isn't involved with anyone here. I found her in the forest when I went to look for Piper and had to..comfort her. She's probably still curled up naked under Piper's blan-"

"Stop!" Interrupted Piper. "I really don't want to hear this anymore."

The Wallops, Ace and Harvey burst into raucous laughter, provoked even more by the steadily rising blush on Piper's cheeks.


End file.
